In
the beginning God had a Dream of what He wanted the heavens and earth to look
like—and He proceeded to create them according to that Dream. There
are over 125 references to dreams and dreamers in the Bible – evidence that God
is sharing His Dream with us in our dreams and visions.
“Dream”
in Hebrew means to “bind strongly or firmly.”
A dream from God becomes bound up in the heart of the person receiving
the dream. When God gives you a dream or vision—it is a very spiritual
experience – not easily forgotten or set aside – it becomes a part of your
heart and mind.
Two
quick footnotes: (1) the only difference
between a dream and a vision is if you are awake, and, (2) not all dreams and
visions are from God. Nevertheless,
dreams are often called God’s secret weapon or the sleep language of God.
God gives each of us a Dream. Today,
June 29th , I celebrate the
50th Anniversary of
Ordination. I am a cradle Episcopalian
and was 10 years old (1948) when God put into my mind and heart that I should
be a priest. That dream was a part of my
reality in grade school, high school and college – the Dream was always with
me. Friends and class-mates pondered
what they would do when they grew up – that was never a question for me – I was
going to be ordained and be a part of God’s Dream for this world.
Following
Seminary, God’s Dream found me Vicar of two large Native-American congregations
on the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota – in case you were not aware – we
are the largest church among Indian people in Minnesota, the Dakotas and
Alaska.
God’s Dream for me also included
serving as Parish Rector, Cathedral Dean and activity duty in the USAF as Chief
of Chaplains for the Air National Guard – following Military retirement, the
Dream lead to Interim Ministry. First,
in a suburban Washington, DC Parish and then as Interim Rector for 3 years in
our largest African-American Parish in Washington, DC. Next came a call to an avant-garde Baltimore
Parish and then the Dream lead to Kansas City and three wonderful Interim
Rectorships.
Each
of you readers also has a story about your part of God’s Dream – was it about
education, career, family, fine arts, athletics? Was it about loving, serving, worshiping? I pray that someone knows your story and that
you will keep sharing it with others.
This is in no way to suggest that
God’s Dream always brings joy and happiness, sometimes quite the opposite.
Nor is it to suggest that all that
happens in the Episcopal Church is actually God’s Dream, some may well be
Satan’s nightmare.
Nevertheless,
it has been a grand 50 years being part of the Dream!!!
Our hopes and dreams have converged for which I am most grateful. As CS Lewis taught us, friendship is finding ourselves traveling on the same road toward the horizon.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the 50 plus years of ordination. Its been grand ride for me and all of my dreams have been fulfilled. We thank God for calling to the ministry of this church.
ReplyDeleteI met God when I was three and God was ageless. I spent time under our big dining room table chatting to God and three imaginary friends as I set up a meal of Ritz crackers for us to share. I don't know if it was God's dream or not but the experience grew inside me and years later I recognized my little meal in the Eucharist.I've been an Episcopal priest for 25 years now. I still chat and dine with God at the altar. Now I'm dreaming my dream into a memoir, which I hope God will dream into publication with my help. Thanks for the invitation to share.
ReplyDeleteGary congratulations on 50. Thank you for sharing your dream, priesthood and friendship with me. Your dream has become a journey of priestly loyalty.
ReplyDeleteLyn, Thank you for sharing a part of God’s Dream for you; wonderful! Perhaps some of our other readers will be willing to share their part of the Dream.
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